I headed to the break room, swung open the door, found an empty chair, sat down, and closed my eyes. I tried to clear my mind, focus on my breathing, and—
I heard the door open.
That was OK. People would come in and out. Everyone in the hospital knew I liked to meditate. I kept my eyes closed, returning my attention to my breathing. I—
“Everything go well?”
I pursed my lips, opened my eyes, and tried to keep myself calm as Zack stood over me. On the one hand, I was pissed having my meditation disrupted. It was probably a bit counterproductive to respond with anger, but for how much importance this had, I couldn’t help it.
On the other hand…well, at least I was getting to look at a pretty face.
“The surgery went well,” I said. “But he’s going to need to stay here for a while.”
“That’s good,” he said. “Any chance that he can get an early exit?”
I shrugged.
“First, he’s got to wake up from his coma. And that’s not anything we can really control right now.”
Zack nodded. He didn’t seem affected by that.
“After that, depending on when he wakes up, we may advise him staying longer or not. It just depends on how his body is.”
“But if he wanted an early out?”
I sighed. Zack was really going to push this point, wasn’t he?
“Officially, we’d have him sign a document stating that this was against best medical practices and that he understood the risks of leaving early. Unofficially, I’d call him an idiot for leaving a hospital while under care.”
“But you wouldn’t stop him.”
Are all the Black Reapers this dumb? I thought Zack was considered the smart one.
I guess “smart” is only relatively speaking.
“No, we legally cannot,” I said. “But I do not know why, practically, you’d want him to leave early.”
Zack smirked.
“Club business.”
Was that supposed to be some sort of secret phrase that I should have known about? Was it supposed to be like “Fight Club” where anyone that said it instantly knew what you were talking about without having to say more?
I didn’t get it. And Zack, at least, seemed to pick up on that quickly enough, changing the subject right after.
“I know you remember me.”
Those words sent a rush through my stomach. Why? Like I said, he was handsome and smart, but those were only relative to the Black Reapers. That wasn’t the case for everyone in my life.
And yet, all the same, that gut warmth was there. I had told myself repeatedly as a doctor, I would not ignore my gut, and while that was true for medical purposes, I also had to fight to remember it in my personal life.
“What about it?”
Zack chuckled.
“It’s interesting,” he said. “We haven’t seen each other in, what, a year and a half?”
“Yes, I remember that morning,” I said with a distinct scowl and bitter tone. “I wish I did not, but for how that morning went, I can’t help it.”
